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Vic Willis

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
6-2, 185lb (188cm, 83kg)
Born: April 12, 1876 in Cecil County, MD us
Died: August 3, 1947  in Elkton, MD
Buried: St. John Cemetery, Newark, DE
High School: Newark Academy (Newark, DE)
School: University of Delaware (Newark, DE)
Debut: April 20, 1898 (2,042nd in major league history)
Last Game: September 5, 1910
vs. PIT 6.1 IP, 11 H, 1 SO, 1 BB, 0 ER
Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1995. (Voted by Veteran’s Committee)
View Vic Willis’s Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos).
Full Name: Victor Gazaway Willis
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

Notable Events and Chronology for Vic Willis Career

SearchSearch Events, Dates and More Date (Newest)Title (A - Z)

April 19, 1900

The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Boston Beaneaters, 19 – 17 set a major league record for most runs scored by two clubs

June 10, 1901

In Cincinnati‚ Boston’s Vic Willis is victorious over the Reds‚ 9 – 5. Willis hits his only career homer‚ off Doc Newton‚ to help his win. His batterymate Malachi Kittridge also homers. Noteworthy at the game is American League president Ban Johnson‚ who is the guest of Reds owner John Brush.

July 28, 1903

Boston’s Vic Willis outpitches Christy Mathewson to beat the Giants, 5 – 3

August 3, 1903

The Giants edge Boston, 4 – 1, in 11 innings with Christy Mathewson outpitching Vic Willis

September 7, 1905

The Beaneaters and Giants trade shutouts, with Boston beating Joe McGinnity in the opener, 1 – 0, and Christy Mathewson returning the favor, 3 – 0, in the nitecap. The game is scoreless until New York scores a run in the 7th off Vic Willis.

December 15, 1905

Vic Willis is traded by 7th-place Boston to Pittsburgh for three players

May 16, 1906

The visiting Giants, clad in their new all-black uniforms, are sliced up by the Pirates, 11 – 0. The Bucs tally 15 hits to back sinkerballer Vic Willis, obtained from Boston the previous December. Willis will toss shutouts in his next two outings.

July 4, 1906

The visiting Cubs and Pirates deal aces today with Chicago coming out on top in both games. Three Finger Brown beats Lefty Leifield, 1 – 0, in the lidlifter with both pitchers allowing just one hit. It is just the second double one-hitter in history, the first occurring on August 20, 1886. Lefty collects the only Buc shot while holding Chicago hitless until Jimmy Slagle’s safety in the 9th inning. Slagle scores on a sacrifice, error, and ground out. Brown will toss nine shutouts this year. In the second game, Carl Lundgren tosses another 1 – 0 shutout for Chicago, beating Vic Willis. When Brown and Leifield face off on September 6th, Brown will again allow just one hit.

July 17, 1907

In a second place battle Vic Willis tops Mathewson 2-0

June 11, 1908

Vic Willis pitches Pittsburgh to a 5 – 2 win over the Giants. Christy Mathewson loses his 4th of the year.

July 11, 1908

Vic Willis gives the Pirates their second win in a row over the Giants, winning, 6 – 2

July 28, 1908

Hooks Wiltse and Vic Willis lock horns for 16 innings  

August 24, 1908

1908 – The Giants gain the National League lead by winning two at Pittsburgh, after first refusing to play a doubleheader. John McGraw protests that only one game was scheduled and he was not given 24 hours notice about the second match. But after polling the players, he relents. Hooks Wiltse then tops Vic Willis, 4 – 1 and Christy Mathewson beats Lefty Leifield, 5 – 1. Willis tires in the 8th, giving up a 2-run triple to Roger Bresnahan, followed by a Mike Donlin homer. In the nitecap, Donlin and Larry Doyle each drive home a pair. The doubleheader is watched in New York on electric diamonds known as “Compton’s Baseball Bulletin” at Madison Square Garden and the Gotham Theatre. Bulletins will display all remaining games.

September 21, 1908

In New York, Christy Mathewson allows just three hits – all in the 3rd inning – and no walks, but the Pirates win, 2 – 1. Vic Willis goes one better, allowing just two New York hits for the victory.

September 26, 1908

Vic Willis tosses a 6-hit shutout over Boston for a Pittsburgh win.

September 30, 1908

1908 – The Pirates top the Cards at home, 7 – 5 as Sam Leever wins in relief of Vic Willis. The win puts the Pirates all alone in 2nd place, .004 points behind the Giants.

June 30, 1909

Forbes Field opens in Pittsburgh, PA with a sell-out crowd of 30,332 watching the first-place Pirates lose, 3 – 2, to the Cubs

September 18, 1909

In Pittsburgh, Vic Willis stops Brooklyn on just one hit, a topped roller in the 3rd inning by Zack Wheat. It will be the closest ever to a no-hitter by any pitcher at Forbes Field.

March 7, 1995

Special Veterans Committee elects 4 including Richie Ashburn 

July 30, 1995

Mike Schmidt, Richie Ashburn, Negro League star Leon Day, former National League president William Hulbert and Vic Willis are inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Vic Willis Biography

Willis won 24 games for Boston as a rookie in 1898 and became the anchor of the club’s pitching staff for eight years. On August 7, 1899, he won a 7-1 no-hitter against Washington. With a splendid curveball, the durable Willis hurled more than 300 innings eight times; in 1902, he threw a league-high 410 innings and set a modern NL record with 45 complete games. He completed 388 of his 471 career starts.

In 1903, both the American and National Leagues laid claim to Willis’s contract, but his services were finally retained by NL Boston. He lost a league-high 25 games in 1904, and in 1905 he set a modern ML record with 29 losses for the first team in history to have four 20-game losers. He regained his winning ways with Pittsburgh, with four consecutive 20-win seasons and a combined 89-46 record with strong clubs from 1906 through 1909. He threw 50 career shutouts, but was on the losing end of 37 others

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